A close-up look at NYC education policy, politics,and the people who have been, are now, or will be affected by acts of corruption and fraud. ATR CONNECT assists individuals who suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool and are the "new" rubber roomers, and re-assigned. The terms "rubber room" and "ATR" mean that you or any person has been targeted for removal from your job. A "Rubber Room" is not a place, but a process.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

WELCOME TO THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION ONLINE EXCESSED STAFF SELECTION SYSTEM. This site is only for use by current UFT EXCESSED STAFF ONLY.

New!! - Pay Check Locator link now available in My Current Status screen

IMPORTANT NOTE TO CURRENT STAFF IN EXCESS:
The Excessed Staff Selection System is now open for current staff who have been placed in excess.

During this time, the Excessed Staff Selection System will only be available to current staff in the licenses listed below who have been properly placed in excess by their current school (including staff currently assigned to closing and phasing out schools). Staff in excess who previously registered for the Open Market System may log in as a continuing user without re-registering. Other individuals in excess who did not previously register for the Open Market must register as a new user with the Excessed Staff Selection System before they may access it to review schools and vacancies or submit applications. Staff in excess may contact the Excessed Staff Selection System tech support team at the email address shown if assistance or further information is required to access the system. It is anticipated that access to the Excessed Staff Selection System will remain available continuously for use by staff who remain in excess for use by staff who remain in excess until the Open Market again becomes available in the spring.

Staff who have not been placed in excess in their current school’s table of organization are not eligible to use the Excessed Staff Selection System at this time. However, staff who have not been placed in excess may continue to network directly with schools in an effort to be interviewed and selected for a new assignment for this upcoming school year. Staff who are not in excess and are offered a position at another school are reminded they must obtain a release from their current Principal before they may be finalized to a new position.

Subject to the limitations cited above, all other procedures and application requirements that previously applied to the Open Market system continue to apply.

The creation of an Excessed Staff Selection System is intended to increase opportunities for teachers and other current staff who have been placed in excess to apply to seek new assignments in different schools throughout the system.

Offering this opportunity to excessed staff, following the recent posting of the Open Market Hiring System for current staff, provides wider choices for both staff and schools, and facilitates better matches between current employees seeking new positions and schools seeking to fill vacancies.

The Excessed Staff Selection system applies to staff in all regularly appointed UFT titles who are in excess, including Teachers, Guidance Counselors, School Secretaries, Lab Specialists, School Psychologists, Speech Improvement, School Social Workers, Attendance Teachers, and UFT Paraprofessionals. Click here to view Eligible Titles.

Please proceed to the Sign In page in order to enter the Excessed Staff Selection System.

The Division of Human Resources (DHR) serves the entire employee population of the Department of Education (DOE), including teachers, school-based staff, central administration, and support staff.

Time-Sensitive Information for Employees

* Basic plan and optional rider rates for several health benefits plans are changing in July 2011. These changes include the discontinuation of the Aetna QPOS health plan. For more information regarding the updates and changes, please click here.

* The Open Market Hiring System is closed effective August 8, 2011 at 5.00pm. The Excessed Staff Selection System opens on Wednesday, August 10 at 9.00am and is available for current UFT school-based staff in excess (including teachers in excess who are on leave) who wish to submit applications to schools or specific vacancies.

* Put your information in the best hands – your own! Employee Self- Service (ESS) is a tool that allows you to view or change your personal information and health benefits online. Click for more information about ESS.

* Administrative Employees (H/ZBank) and Pedagogues (QBank) and Hourly and Part-Time Employees (EBank, TBank, and Custodial Payroll) should verify and update their Personal HR Record information to ensure HR records are accurate.

* The Long Beach Decision is an outcome of a New York State Court of Appeals decision based on a grievance filed by Civil Service Employees Association on behalf of employees in Long Beach, Long Island. A key provision of the decision required Long Beach (and other municipalities throughout the state of New York) to comply with applicable civil service law that limits the amount of time an individual may serve in what is known as a "provisional" capacity in a competitive class title. To learn more, read Frequently Asked Questions about the Long Beach Decision.

The NYC Department of Education is hiring "Newbies" (new, as in not tenured, younger employees) to replace "Oldies" (senior, tenured personnel of any age) and I have a new term for this: "NIOO" which stands for "Newbies In, Oldies Out".

After school staff are removed for any reason, Probable Without Cause Hearings are held and many (not all) employees are found guilty by Hearing Officer Martin Scheinman, and tenured personnel are fired without Just Cause, the Department keeps their hiring office open for anyone to apply who has not yet been the target of false claims (or valid claims, but the potential employee already has secretly been hired because he/she "knows" someone).

Here are some options:Periodic Assessment Associate

Tracking Code

8500

Job Description

Note:This grant funded assignment is for one (1) year with the possibility of renewal for up to three (3) years.

Position Summary:The New York City school system is the largest in the country, composed of approximately 1.1 million students and 90,000 teachers in over 1,600 schools. In January 2003, the Department of Education (DOE) launched Children First: A New Agenda for Public Schools in New York City, a multi-year reform effort aimed at significantly improving student achievement through effective teaching and learning .

Accountability is an essential element of New York City’s education reform effort. This effort is led by the Division of Academics, Performance, and Support (DAPS). The Periodic Assessment program provides accountability through data on student understanding that enables educators to analyze student performance and curriculum relative to high learning expectations for students, including the skills embedded in the New York State Standards and the Common Core Learning Standards. These formative assessments provide educators with the ongoing and timely information they need in order to differentiate instructional support for students, better target classroom instruction, plan their curriculum, implement professional development, and monitor student learning and progress over time.

The Periodic Assessment Associate is critical to the success of the program, including supporting ov erall program objectives and responsibility for day-to-day, detailed management of implementation activities for ECAM (Early Childhood Assessment in Mathematics), Performance Series and English Language Learner (ELL) Assessments. The Periodic Assessment Associate will also partner with the Achievement Support Initiatives team to create and implement a plan to support educators and network staff. Working closely with the other members of the Periodic Assessment team, the Periodic Assessment Associate will be responsible for ensuring programs are implemented effectively, including the assessment tools for educators. Performs related work.

Reports to: K-2 Program Manager

Direct Reports: Monitor work of external vendors.

Key Relationships: Will work closely with other Periodic Assessment Team members including the Director of Periodic Assessment and other Program Managers. ThePeriodic Assessment Associatewill also work closely with educators using the Periodic Assessment tools at their respective schools, other Department of Education groups, including the ARIS team, the Test Design and Development Team, the Office of ELLs, Data Management Team, and Children’s First Intensive, as well as managing relationships with external assessment vendors.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Develops and executes program plans to make Early Childhood Assessment in Mathematics (ECAM) available to schools citywide by 2013-14.

Works with vendors to develop materials to build capacity centrally and within networks to support schools in strengthening elementary mathematics assessment literacy and educational practice-including the use of ECAM.

Works with vendors to revise ECAM, where appropriate, to align with citywide instructional expectations and initiatives.

Partners with the Achievement Support Initiatives team to create and implement a plan to support educators and network staff in the use of Periodic Assessment resources and guide the creation of professional development modules to help participants effectively administer assessments, access and interpret results and use the information to inform practice in context of citywide instructional expectations.

Monitors and encourages usage and identifies support needed by schools to effectively administer assessments, access and interpret results, and use the information to inform instructional practices.

Directs the work of professional developers to support usage of student results among a wide va riety of teachers, coaches, and administrators. Gathers feedback from professional development participants to inform future enhancements to products and implementation.

Manages day-to-day implementation and administration of the Performance Series Computer Adaptive English, literacy and reading and mathematics assessments and the ELL Periodic Assessments in up to 1400+ schools citywide.

Oversees Performance Series and ELL program plans, including activities such as coordinating and monitoring delivery and collection of assessment materials.

Works closely with professional developers to support usage of reporting platform among a wide variety of teachers, coaches, and administrators to retrieve and interpret student results.

Assists educators, administrators, technology representatives, and other DOE offices to implement the Periodic Assessments a nd overall program effectively.

Coordinates with Director and other Periodic Assessment team members to help ensure coherence across multiple assessment tools, share lessons learned, and provide support for educators/users. Collaborates with other Periodic Assessment Team members on all activities related to strategic planning for and communication of the Periodic Assessment vision and assessment portfolio.

Qualification Requirements:

Minimum

Graduation from an accredited college with a baccalaureate degree and three (3) years of full-time, paid experience in education administration in one or more of the following areas: special education, career and occupational education, curriculum development, evaluation and testing, educational planning and educational statistics, one (1) year of which must hav e been in a supervisory/consultative capacity; or

High school graduation or evidence of having passed an examination for a high school equivalency diploma plus seven (7) years of full-time, paid experience in education administration or in one or more of the areas listed in '1'above, one (1) year of which must have been in a supervisory/consultative capacity; or

A combination of education and/or experience which is equivalent to the requirements in'1” and'2” above. However, all candidates must have a minimum of two (2) years of appropriate, relevant experience in one or more of the areas listed in'1'above. Teaching experience will be accepted towards meeting the requirement for experience in one or more of the areas listed in'1'above. However, all candidates must have the required one (1) year of experience in a supervisory/consultative capacity.

Preferred

Strong project management skills and the ability to analyze data from various sources and prepare updates/reports.

Ability to build strong working relationships with constituents and represent DAPS both internally and externally.

Ability to lead teams.

Ability to prepare written reports and make oral presentations clearly and concisely.

Experience working in the K-12 education field, with classroom experience.

Experience with content work at the early childhood, elementary, middle and high school levels or grades K-12 in one or more of the following areas: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies and tests for English Language Learners, Gifted and Talented students and cognitively disabled students.

Experience working on the fundamentals of test administration, evaluation and interpretation.

Knowledge of the specific rules, regulations, mandates and policies affecting testing and assessment, including federal, state and city mandates and other funding source mandates.

Familiarity with early childhood pedagogical practice, assessment, and research.

Understanding of cognitive development in youn g children.

Experience providing professional development for teachers in the area of early childhood mathematics.

Salary:$75,828+

Applications will be accepted through October 28, 2011.

Resumes will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability and/or grant funding.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide educational and employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, alienage and citizenship status, age, marital status, disability, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as provided by law), sexual orientation, gender (sex), and to maintain an environment free of discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, or retaliation as required by civil rights law. Inquiries regarding compliance with this equal opportunity policy may be directed to: Office of Equal Opportunity, 65 Court Street, Room 923, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or visit the OEO website athttp://schools.nyc.gov/OEO

Job Location

Tweed (52 Chambers Street) (TWEED)

Position Type

Full-Time/Regular

New Posting

Yes

Job Details

Office of Special Investigations (OSI) Attorney

Tracking Code 7052

Position Summary: Under the supervision of the Director of the Office of Special Investigations, with latitude for independent action, performs reviews of investigative reports related to highly confidential and sensitive investigations concerning the corruption, misconduct, or other illegal, unethical, or improper activities of agency officials or employees, and the development and implementation of plans and programs for the control, tracking and prevention of such corruption, misconduct, or other illegal, unethical or improper practices. Performs related work.

Reports to: Director of the Office of Special Investigations

RESPONSIBILITIES

·Reviews investigative reports, both substantiated and unsubstantiated, to ensure that all allegations have been addressed, all necessary witnesses have been interviewed, and that the investigation was thoroughly conducted.

·Reviews investigative files to ensure that all necessary documentation has been filed in accordance with Office of Special Investigations (OSI) investigative policies and procedures.

Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume to be considered for this position.

Resumes will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. We encourage applicants to apply as soon as possible.

NOTE: The filling of all positions is subject to budget availability.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements

Admission to the New York State Bar AND three (3) years of progressively responsible United Sates legal experience subsequent to admission to any state bar.

NOTE: Selected candidates must remain members of the New York State Bar in good standing for the duration of their employment.

Preferred

·Overall knowledge of the NYC school system and ability to advise and render legal opinions on educational policies and practices.

·Demonstrated written and verbal communication capabilities and interpersonal skills.

·Highly organized.

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide educational and employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, creed, national origin, alienage and citizenship status, age, marital status, disability, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as provided by law), sexual orientation, gender (sex), and to maintain an environment free of discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, or retaliation as required by civil rights law. Inquiries regarding compliance with this equal opportunity policy may be directed to: Office of Equal Opportunity, 65 Court Street, Room 923, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or visit the OEO website at http://schools.nyc.gov/OEO

Rubber Room Satire

The Labor Movement

The Rise and Fall of The Labor Movement

The Teaching Equation

We Can Work Out Our Differences

The E-Accountability Foundation

The E-Accountability Foundation brings you this blog which highlights issues that have or should be read by people interested in civil rights, and accountability. The E-Accountability Foundation is a 501(C)3 organization that holds people accountable for their actions online and, through the internet, seeks to bring justice to anyone who has been harmed without reason. We give the'A for Accountability' Awardto those who are willing to blow the whistle on unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status.

Performance Management - Office of Labor Relations

From Betsy Combier

The NYC Office of Labor Relations, with the support of the UFT, has issued to principals a document called"Performance Management" on how to get rid of an incompetent teacher. Who is an "incompetent teacher"? Anyone the NYC Department of Education wants to remove from the system because he/she is too senior (makes too much money), is disabled (and therefore cannot be deemed factory-perfect) and/or is other impaired (is a whistleblower, cannot be intimidated, is ethnically challenged - not the 'right' race, etc).

Dont Tread On Educators (DTOE) Show

"Rubber Room"

(1) a space where a worker subject to a disciplinary hearing or other administrative action waits and does no work; generally, a place or personal mind-set of isolation.(2) a literal reference to a padded cell, which is, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary, “a room in a psychiatric hospital with padded walls to prevent violent patients from injuring themselves.”from Double-Tongued Dictionary http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/rubber_room/

"Rubberization"

The word "rubberization" is a new word that is used to describe the process of assigning and paying people to sit and do nothing in a drab room away from their place of employment while their employers make up charges that allege sexual or corporal misconduct without any facts upon which to base the allegation on.

Queens UFT

Mulgrew v BOE Teacher Data Article 78 and Appeal Decisions

Richard E. Casagrande

NYSUT General Counsel

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Director of Labor Relations

David Brodsky

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My Thoughts and Raison d'etre

This blog is about the denial of Constitutional rights by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York State and Federal Courts, New York State legislature, New York City Department of Education CEO Dennis Walcott and his predecessors Joel Klein and Cathie Black, and the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), as well as PACs and all parties participating in the business of public school education in New York City, including parents, children, and staff of public schools in the five boroughs. These thoughts are not simply mindless conclusions reached out of thin air, but a result of 11 years of research into the NYC DOE and the Courts as a reporter and paralegal.
I am an advocate of Unions and union rights, public schools and charters, and learning online as well as outside of the classroom. I cannot and do not support anyone, whether they be union management, government, private members of the politicial or legal system, or simply retired teachers with an agenda, if he or she tramples, discards, or rebuffs anyone's individual civil rights. As a reporter, journalist, advocate, researcher and paralegal, I have created this blog to inform the public about my experience working for the UFT and being the parent of four daughters who went through the public school system in NYC, as well as examine issues that flow from the massive denial of due process rights that I saw and have documented. The two most important points you should remember: first, everyone at the New York City Board/Department of Education and all Union bigs are motivated by power and money, and looking good. If anyone dares to blow the whistle on these racketeers, retaliation follows, so be a strategist; second, I am not an Attorney and nothing I write or say is legal advice, simply my thoughts. Take 'em or leave 'em.
Betsy Combier, Editor
NYC Rubber Room Reporter
http://nycrubberroomreporter.blogspot.com
New York Court Corruption
http://newyorkcourtcorruption.blogspot.com
Parentadvocates.org
http://www.parentadvocates.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/betsy.combier
Twitter: http://twitter.com/BetsyCombier
The NYC Public Voice
http://nycpublicvoice.blogspot.com/betsy.combier@gmail.com

Winning Your 3020-a

Contact me with a concern or issue

I assist anyone who needs help, so email me your problem to start the ball rolling! I am a teacher/parent advocate, and I am the editor/writer for this blog and the website parentadvocates.org. I also write about court corruption on my blog "NYC Court Corruption". I am interested in random injustice and the criminalizing of innocent people. If you want to chat you may email me at: betsy.combier@gmail.com and I'm on twitter and have a facebook page too. I'm not an attorney and do not give legal advice.

Theresa Europe, NYC BOE ATU Director

Robin Greenfield

Deputy Counsel to the NYC DOE

UFT Pres. Mike Mulgrew and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg

UFT umbrella pals

New York State Supreme Court Judge Manuel Mendez

ATR CONNECT

Tenured Teachers who are found to be guilty of misconduct or incompetency at 3020-a but are not terminated, who have blown the whistle on the misconduct of politically favored NYC Department of Education employees, and/or who are simply disliked for any reason can suddenly find themselves in the ATR ("Absent Teacher Reserve") pool - employees without rights or voices, and without chapter leader union representation.

This new group of people are the "new" rubber roomers without representation at the UFT and denied the protection of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, because basically they have been pushed out of their jobs unfairly and under color of law by Mayor Bloomberg and the Chief Executives of the Department of Education who call themselves "Chancellors", "Network Leaders", "Superintendents", etc., consistently without any facts or evidence to support the false claims.

A group of teachers who are, or were, made into ATRs, ATR Polo Colon, and I, Betsy Combier, an advocate for transparency and labor/employment rights, have joined together to expose the denial of due process, civil and human rights by chiefs of the NYC Department of Education (NYC DOE), certain arbitrators at 3020-a, leaders of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), the "investigators" -agents who work for the Special Commissioner of Investigation (SCI), Office of Special Investigation (OSI), and the Office of Equal Opportunity (OEO) - and the Attorneys who work for the New York United Teachers (NYSUT), and the New York Law Department (Corporation Counsel).

In order to protect the safety of those who join this group to promote an end to the "Rubberization" process described on this blog since 2007, names of those who tell their stories will, for now, remain anonymous if the person so desires, and Polo and I will be the gatekeepers. So if you are an ATR, or know a story involving an ATR or someone re-assigned or about to go into a 3020-a, please use the email address advocatz77@gmail.com and give us your contact information. We will protect your anonymity and hold onto your privacy.

FAITH When we walk to the edge of all the light we have and take the step into the darkness of the unknown, we must believe that one of two things will happen. There will be something solid for us to stand on or we will be taught to fly.

Patrick Overton

We have forty million reasons for failure but not a single excuse.Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

US Department of Labor ELAWS

Jon Stewart on Crisis in Dairyland, Teachers and Wall Street

Aeri Pang, Gotcha Squad Attorney

Attorney Pang, red dress, now chief Attorney For New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

New York State Supreme Court Judge Cynthia Kern

Judge Cynthia Kern Given a Promotion.

Judge Kern was moved last March (2012) from 80 Centre Street to the main building, 60 Centre Street, and "promoted" to the 6th floor - after she denied the Mulgrew Article 78 on teacher evaluations. If you have to get a subpoena signed by her, you will be "allowed" to go to the 6th floor, where a guard sits and calls Kern's chambers:HON. CYNTHIA S. KERN60 Centre Street, Room 647New York, New York 10007Phone: (646) 386-3729Principal Court Attorneys: Rachel J. Fremmer, Esq.Assistant Law Clerk: Yael Wilkofsky, Esq.She is almost at the end of the long hallway , and she does not list Aeri Pang as her senior Attorney any more. Maybe she's hiding. Kern still gets my vote as the number 1 worst judge in terms of fairnesss for Plaintiffs/Petitioners at the NYC Supreme Court.

NYC EdStats You Can Use

$12.5 billion: Annual New York City Department of Education (DOE) budget (2002)

$21 billion: Annual New York City DOE budget (2009)
1,719: Number officials employed by the DOE central administration in June 2002

2,442: Number of officials employed by the central administration as of November 2008

2: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2004.

22: Number of DOE officials earning more than $180,000 per year in 2007.

5: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2003.

23: Number of DOE public relations staffers in 2008.

944: Number of contracts approved by DOE in 2008, at a total cost of $1.9 billion.

20: Percentage of contracts that exceeded estimated cost by at least 25 percent.

$67.5 million: Annual budget of Project Arts, a decade-old program that was the sole source of dedicated funding for arts education. It was eliminated in 2007.

86: Percentage of principals who said in a 2008 poll that they were unable to provide a quality education because of excessive class sizes in their schools.

100,000: Number of seats DOE plans to provide for charter school students by 2012.

25,000: Number of seats DOE plans to build under 2010 to 2014 capital plan.

66,895: Number of K-3 school-children in classes of 25 or more during the 2008-09 school year.

15,440: Average number of seats per year built during the last six years of the Rudolph Giuliani administration.

10,895: Average number of seats per year built during the first six years of the Bloomberg administration.

27.2: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were Black.

14.1: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were Black.

53.3: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2001-02 who were white.

65.5: Percentage of newly hired teachers in 2006-07 who were white.

76: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Latino students in 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) in 2003.

75: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic students in 8th grade ELA in 2008.

77: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2003.

81: Percentage of white and Asian students who performed better than the average Black and Hispanic 8th graders in math in 2008.

54: Percentage of New York City public school parents who disapproved of Mayor Bloomberg’s handling of education, according to a March 2009 Quinnipiac poll.

Sources: New York City Council, New York City Comptroller’s Office, New York Daily News, New York Post, Eduwonkette, Quinnipiac Institute, Black Educator, Class Size Matters, New York City Schools Under Bloomberg and Klein.

Fire Joel I. Klein

John Taylor Gatto on American Education

The New York City Whistle Award

NYC Whistlers, Winners of the NYC Whistle Award

...are those individuals in New York City who are willing to whistleblow unjust, misleading, or false actions and claims of the politico-educational complex in order to bring about educational reform in favor of children of all races, intellectual ability and economic status. Whistlers ask questions that need to be asked, such as "where is the money?" and "Why does it have to be this way?" and they never give up.

These people have withstood adversity and have held those who seem not to believe in honesty, integrity and compassion accountable for their actions.

Congratulations, and keep up the good work!

Betsy Combier

NYC Whistlers

The Re-Assignment Overview by Betsy Combier

The New York City Board of Education decided in 2002 to rid the public school system of staff who interfered with their takeover and control. The criteria for a "good teacher" is now, more often than not, a "silent teacher", a person who never asks questions, is younger than 40, is making a salary below $50,000, does not care about kids and what they learn, or whether or not money (books, supplies, equipment, etc) is missing. When a teacher or staff member of a school dares to do the right thing and speaks out about wrong-doing - this person is often called a "whistleblower" or "flamethrower" - or, simply is not liked for any reason by the Principal/NYC personnel, suddenly he/she is accused of something by somebody ("given a label of "A", "B", "C", and so on) and whisked away to a drab room called a temporary re-assignment center or "rubber room". Members of the offices of the Special Commissioner of Investigation or the Office of Special Investigations then start work on building a case against the person to justify their being thrown in prison, declared "unfit for duty", or, as Mr. Joel Klein has said, characterized as "guilty of sexual activities and corporal punishment" against the children of New York City.The stories of the people I have met who sit every day in the 8 rubber rooms of NYC prove to me that Mr. Klein is very wrong about his assessment, and this blog is created to prove it to you.

New York City Government Links

Special Commissioner of Investigation Richard Condon

Condon "qualified" for his current post after Bloomberg lowered standards; who will leash him?

A great teacher

After being interviewed by the school administration, the prospective teacher said: 'Let me see if I've got this right.

'You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning.

'You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

'You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job 'You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the final exams.

'You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English, Spanish or any other language, by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

'You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletinboard, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. 'You want me to do all this and then you tell me. . . I CAN'T PRAY?

Joel Klein, the "pretend" chancellor

Joel Klein's famous statement about rubber room teachers and staff

On November 27, 2006, temporarily re-assigned teacher (TRT) Polo Colon asked Joel Klein, the "pretend" Chancellor of the NYC public school system, if he had voted to terminate teachers at the secret Executive Session held just before the public meeting of the Panel For Educational Policy.Mr. Klein answered,"We did not vote to terminate you. We did vote to terminate a teacher in executive Session...in fact, we voted to terminate two teachers. It's perfectly consistent with the law.Many teachers have been charged with sexual activities and some are charged with corporal punishment...I have no interest in removing people who are qualified to teach, I can assure you, because I dont get any return...and in fact, I have complained publicly about how long this process drags out. But our first concern will always be and, as a former lawyer and somebody who clerked on the United States Supreme Court I will tell you, there is no violation of due process whatsoever..."- extracted from the audiotape of the PEP meeting bought by Betsy Combier after filing a FOIL request to the NYC BOE

November 26, 2007 Candelight Vigil

The School Law Blog

A Review of Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools by Betsy Combier

Lydia Segal's book puts the NYC, Chicago, and California Departments of Education on notice....we who have read this book know more about how the system is not there for our kids than "you" want us to know. Lydia Segal's book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools changes the public school reform movement forever. We can no longer assume that more money allocated to our schools will "fix" the disaster that is our public school system.

Lydia Segal draws on her 10 years of undercover investigation and research in over five urban school districts, including the three largest, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the two most decentralized, Houston and Edmonton, Canada, to provide, in her new book Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools, the details of the corruption, theft, fraud, and patronage that has overrun our public school establishment for several decades. There is no question that anyone who is interested in school reform -this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first - must read this book. Ms. Segal's research and information on the education establishment's 'dark' side outrages the reader, and incites us to demand change. Her book therefore, is much more than a book, it is a call to action. We cannot be bystanders any longer to the systemic abuse she so vividly describes, and we will never be able to listen in the same way ever again to school Principals, Superintendents, school custodians or district board members as they request more money "to help the children."

The book's detailed reports on the corruption and crime in our public schools, supported by 52 pages of interview notes, references and specific examples, provide irrefutable evidence that the current failures of our nation's public schools are not due to the lack of money but the impossibility of getting the money to the children who need it and for whom the money is allocated in the first place. Recent statistics show that students of all ages are not learning what they need to know, schools are overcome with violence, teachers are demoralized, and yet billions of dollars are literally shovelled into the system every year. The New York City school system receives more than $16 billion every year; Los Angeles, $7 billion; and Chicago, $3.6 billion. Where does this money go? We have all asked this question as we have walked through school hallways dodging the paint falling off the walls and ceilings, watching our children sitting on broken chairs, using bathrooms without running water or toilet paper, and struggling to achieve their personal best without the services and resources they are supposed to have. Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools is the first book ever to systematically examine school waste and corruption and how to fight it. Ms. Segal, an undercover school investigator turned law professor, documents where the money goes, how waste and fraud embedded in the operation of large school bureaucracies siphon money from classrooms, distort educational priorities, block initiatives, and what we can do to bring badly-needed change. She describes in detail how only a small percentage of the money allocated to students in our public schools actually gets used by them due to corruption and waste, and how city school systems scoring lowest on standardized tests tend to have the biggest criminal records and most payroll padding. Coding problems, the procurement process, compartmentalization and opacity of information leave administrators with only two options: good corruption (which ultimately helps the kids) and bad corruption (which never helps anyone but the perpetrator and his/her allies and accomplices). Indeed, the system fights those who try the good corruption route.

Ms. Segal argues that the problem is not usually bad people, but a bad system that focuses on process at the expense of results. Decades of rules and regulations along with layers of top-down supervision make it so hard to do business with school systems that they encourage the very fraud and waste they were designed to curb. She tells us about how the "godfathers" and "godmothers" (the school board members) obtain jobs for their "pieces" in order to protect the systemic waste and fraud from being dismantled or exposed. Fortunately, she writes, there are good people involved in the corruption as well who must violate the rules in order to get their jobs done. Nonetheless, absurdities abound: school systems following rules to save every penny spend thousands of dollars hunting down checks as small as $25; it takes so long to pay vendors for their work that some have to bribe school officials to move their checks along; caring Principals who want to fix leaky toilets may have to pay workers under the table because submitting a work order through the central office could, and often does, take years. Meanwhile, those who pilfer from classrooms get away with it because the pyramidal structure of large districts makes schools inherently difficult to oversee. What makes Battling Corruption in America's Public Schools a must-read is not only the fascinating - and depressing - details of the systemic wrong-doing but also Ms. Segal's suggestions for reform, based on the proven track records of school systems across North America that have successfully reduced waste and fraud and have pushed more resources into schools.

The pathology of the corruption suggests the remedy, Ms. Segal says, which is decentralization of power into the schools and the hands of the Principals. Distilling what successful school systems have done, Segal advocates new forms of oversight that do not clog up school systems and recommends giving principals more discretion over their school budgets as well as holding them accountable for job performance. She argues for "autonomy in exchange for performance accountability" as part of a bold, far-reaching plan for reclaiming our schools. Her conclusion is logical and convincing. Everyone who reads this book will find his or her perception of public school education changed forever. We cannot accept any longer that a generation of children has been abused by a system that is so full of greed and corruption without screaming "stop!" and "Your game is up!"

Segal reveals how systemic waste and fraud siphon millions of dollars from urban classrooms and shows how money is lost in systems that focus on process rather than on results, as well as how regulations established to curb waste and fraud provide perverse incentives for new forms of both. Anyone who is interested in school reform--this means anyone who pays taxes, is a parent or guardian of a child attending school, and/or who works toward a goal of establishing an education system that puts children first--must read this book. --

Lydia G. Segal is Associate Professor of Criminal Law and Public Administration at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York.

The NYC BOE FAMIS Online Tour

The FAMIS Portal Online Tour provides an overview and demonstration of the FAMIS Portal. Computer speakers or headphones are recommended. Choose an item of interest below, or click on the Introduction to proceed through all of the modules in sequence.

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